Epsilon Gets Into Audience Targeting; 24/7 Adds Video Workflow With Panache; Adometry Segmenting

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.

The Traditional DMP

Audience platforms are infiltrating the traditional database marketing company as Epsilon announced yesterday that it’s getting into the online audience targeting business by partnering with Aggregate Knowledge. The company says that the new product called “Online Audience Central will bring together online and offline data assets in a central audience management platform with tools for analyzing data and making it actionable across online channels.” Big database company clients want display! Read more about the Epsilon DMP.

24/7 Has Panache

WPP’s 24/7 Media announced that it has acquired Panache. According to a release, “The acquisition of Panache expands 24/7 Real Media’s technology offer by adding digital video ad fulfillment to its award-winning Open AdStream advertising management platform. Video is the fastest-growing segment of online advertising.” According to its website, Panache equates itself with DG and Extreme Reach except for online. It’s video order fulfillment with services, and though there was no mention of the acquisition price, I’ll guess $6-12 million. Read more. It appears WPP is getting a “direct” connection into some top publishers’ video inventory here. WPP agency trading desk Xaxis will like this.

Embracing Audience Segments

Adometry announced that it had enhanced its attribution and analytics suite with audience data from Nielsen, TARGUSinfo, Acxiom and Datalogix as media buyers will be able to view conversion rates for audience segments. Read more. It’s interesting to see Adometry’s continued expansion into all things analytical as the company’s Click Forensics roots used to track clicks to prevent click fraud, and now it tracks an increasing number of user events in order to provide a view on how ad spend is working. The acquisition of Adometry (by ClickForensics which then took the Adometry name) added ad verification, too. Embrace and extend!

Display Ad Data

Using MediaMind data, eMarketer has published some new graphics showing performance using several different types of strategies such as… ad syncing: “Advertisers often use multiple ad placements on a page to draw a user toward distinct calls to action, by syncing ad creative on these placements to complement one another (…) Synced ads averaged a 6.6% dwell rate for impressions served worldwide; regular ads only saw a 5.6% dwell rate.” See it now! It still seems like early days in how ads are served to the consumer – what if each consecutive ad told a different part of a story? Makes sense. PointRoll called in ad sequencing in a Q&A with AdExchanger.com. But, you don’t hear much about it today because it’s costly and harder to do.

The Vertical Network

Cox Digital Solutions (CDS) is getting creative with its vertical ad network business. Way back in early 2008, the company acquired vertical ad network Adify (whose brand has been put to bed) and continues see defined, select verticals as an important opportunity. Following up the launch of food network Appetite Media earlier this year, CDS’ new Red Carpet Media will aim for entertainment content including a deal with ABC’s entertainment site OnTheRedCarpet. This isn’t just about standard IAB ads, there are integrated, custom opportunities for advertisers says the company. Read more.

Deals Aren’t For Everyone

The “daily deals” business popularized by Groupon has had more than its share of imitators and, steadily, many are falling by the wayside as ReachLocal, whose local team logically started a “deals” business called DealOn, has decided to call it quits on deals. Forbes published a note sent to DealOn subscribers: “We regret to inform you that Monday, December 19, 2011, will be the LAST day offers will run, and the last day you will receive Daily Deal emails from [Dealon.com].” Just in time for the holidays. Read more. Local always has the same challenge – the cost of resources (people) to effect an ad solution can exceed the aggregated ad spend of potential, local advertisers. Google’s bottom-of-the-funnel, pay per click ads and the attendant automation are another story, of course.

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